


Burn the Witch

by KyraP



Series: Mages in Undertale [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-01-10 01:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12288417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyraP/pseuds/KyraP
Summary: Decades after the monsters were imprisoned underground, the humans have found a new prey to hunt. Despite hiding from the humans for centuries, witch trials swept through the world killing almost all surviving mages/Almost all.The reader is one of the few mages still alive through the horror of the witch trials. Fleeing from humans, she falls into the underground. But is it truly safer than the world above?A reimagining of War Zone, where the reader never met Grillby or any of the other monsters and must navigate the surface and the Underground after the war.





	1. Chapter 1

Flame slowly enveloped every part of his body. He struggled against the restraints. Tried to free himself from his hellish fate. To no avail. He screamed. No pity came from the crowd that had gathered around him. He pounded his fists against the log he was tethered to. It shook slightly, then stilled once more. Minutes passed. His pained yells still pierced through the air. He hung on to life, but it was slowly fading. In his last moments of life, his eyes began to glow. The magic within his soul trying to preserve itself. The crowd gawked at the sight. They yelled in anger, calling for his damnation from their God.

(Name) couldn't bear the sight for much longer. But she knew that looking away would oust her. She knew walking away would condemn her. She knew saving him would damn her to the same fate. So, she watched. A blank expression etched on her face, unfeeling. Her throat burned with a mixture of fear and guilt. Every pained scream was another knife through her heart. Every crackle of flame was another knot in her stomach. But she watched. Watched as her friend died in front of her eyes. Watched as her neighbors called for his death. Watched as another mage was burned at the stake.

It was over as quickly as it had begun. As the crowd thinned, she looked at the remains left on the platform before her. He was gone. His body vanished to dust. His soul had fled. The only sign he had existed was the faint magical tug she felt. She turned her back and walked away, speechless. 

It had all happened so quickly. Just a few days ago, they talked about escaping the city. About leaving everything they knew behind. They had hesitated. He had been accused. He was put on trial. He was publicly humiliated. He was burned. He's dead.

As she traversed the streets of the city, she knew she was in danger. If they had discovered he was a wizard, they were sure to suspect her. She would be next. She had been interrogated and had managed to escape prosecution. But how long would that last? How long would it be before they had connected that a confirmed magic user would surround themselves with more of them? How long would she be free?

As she returned to her home, she had decided. She needed to leave. She didn't know where, but anywhere but there. She locked herself in her home and packed. She took only the essentials: food, water, clothes, and a few tomes. Then, under the cover of darkness, she burned her home and fled.

She was truly alone now.

After several days of walking, she had nearly exhausted her supplies. Her robes were crusted with dirt and torn in multiple places, food supply was nearly depleted, and she had not properly rested for several days. Becoming desperate, she neared the base of Mt. Ebott. She had heard the rumors; people who go up the mountain never return. She was about to turn and head in the other direction when she a flash of light and sudden boom. She looked behind her and saw huge grey clouds approaching. Other than the mountain, she was surrounded by forest. Even with magic, if a forest fire started she would be defenseless. She needed shelter and quickly. She fled up the mountain looking for a cave to wait out the storm.

Once at the top, she found a large cave with an even larger chasm in it. For a moment, she thought of inspecting it crossed her mind. She decided not to, instead opting to stay near the opening of the cave and camp out until the storm passes.

Evening soon turned to night and the storm was still raging. She had set up camp for the night, constructing a small fire to conserve warmth and light. After a small dinner, she looked longingly over the world below her. She reminisced about her life she left behind. She knew that fleeing was her only hope of survival, but that didn't stop her from remembering the city fondly. 

As she silently reflected, she hadn't seen the two figures at the base of the mountain. It was only when one spoke when she had noticed the danger approaching. She quickly put out the fire, hid in the shadows, and waited. The voices grew louder, the words slowly becoming clearer.

"Are you sure it's safe?" one said. "What if they really are a witch?"

"There's two of us and only one of it," the other replied. "Besides, the reward for captured witches is worth the risk."

(Name) had heard the rumors that neighboring towns had given rewards to those who had information on witches but she had no idea that it was so serious. Were these "witch hunts" truly this dangerous that people would try to find them so far away from a city? She had no time to ponder this much longer though, as the voices grew louder and closer to the cave. She gathered her belongings and was about to quietly leave the cave, when she heard footsteps right outside the cave. 

She quietly backed away from the entrance when a root made her lose her footing and fall to the ground. To her horror, instead of falling to the ground she fell into the chasm. She caught the ledge in attempts to pull herself back up. She had managed to grab the ledge with both hands. She had wished she knew magic powerful to allow her to fly, but she knew such music didn't exist; at least not to mages, anyway. 

As she tried to pull herself back up, she looked up and was met with a youthful looking human man. He had warm brown eyes, still naïve to the world's horrors. 

"They're here, brother," he said, calling behind him.

"Nice work," the other one said approaching the chasm. 

She looked at the human, and peered into the cruelest eyes she had ever seen. The other man was older than his brother. Dark eyes glinted from beyond dark hair. He was smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. She felt her blood run cold. She started to slip.

"Now," he said, the smile still plastered on his face, "How about you and I make a deal?"  
She was quickly running out of strength. Just as she thought she could pull herself up, she slipped again. Her arms ached, stretching to the breaking point. She couldn't perform a spell in front of the humans, they might think that it's hostile and attack her. She was out of options.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I'll pull you out. And in exchange, me and my brother take you back to the city," he said. 

"Or what?" she said voice straining.

"Or," he put his foot over one of her hands, "you fall to your death." He pressed his foot slightly against her hand, sending a wave of pain and fear throughout her body. "Your choice."

She hesitated. No matter which option she chose she was dead was as good as dead. She glanced down to where she thought the bottom was. The light faded the deeper down you looked until the light was nonexistent. She looked back up at the two humans she was at the mercy of. She had to pick her poison: falling or burning.

"Fine," she said finally. "I'll go with you."

"Good choice." He started to pull her out of the chasm, "Glad to see you witches have at least some brains."

Her shoulders were just above ledge when she heard that. She didn't know what took over her; perhaps it was embarrassment, or maybe fury. Either way, something in her snapped. Everything that humans had done to her people, the things she'd seen, the things she'd done to survive, 

Kendrik's death.

Before she could process what she was doing she felt the hand the human pull her up with grow hot, hotter. Flames flickered from her fingertips, until it erupted in a red-hot flame. The man let out a cry of pain and let go of her hand. She fell into the chasm. She didn't try to grab onto the ledge. She was strangely at peace; she had picked her poison, now to wait for it spread through her body. She closed her eyes, accepting her fate, and felt the light fade from beyond her eyelids. 

Then everything stopped, and world suddenly became pitch black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader finally awakens after their fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY THIS CAME OUT SO LATE! I've been trying to work out the plot and guess I lost track of time! I'll try to make updates will be more often I SWEAR!!!

The first thing that (Name) noticed when she woke up was the deafening silence. Her ears rung with a fervor that lead her to believe that she had gone deaf but the faintest sound of the hollow wind lead her to assume otherwise. She spread her fingers and felt something soft and smooth against her fingers. She strained her head to look. She was laying in a bed of flowers. For a moment she wondered if she had died, but the ache in her back and arms told her that she was very much alive.

She slowly sat up, hearing her back and shoulders creak with the movement. She looked up, she had fallen roughly 200 feet (60 meters) and yet, somehow a patch of daisies had cushioned her fall. Not perfectly, but enough to keep her alive. There was no doubt about it, there were magic users here and fairly recently too.

She felt slightly idiotic to come to that conclusion so late. This was Mt. Ebbot: the realm of monsters. Of course, there were going to be magic users here. The humans might have forgotten, but mages wouldn’t forget The Great War. It was burned into their history, much like The Witch Trials will be if they managed to survive it.

As she struggled to stand, she realized that she was without her supplies; her food, clothes, tomes, everything was still in the cave above. If she were to be attacked, she would be virtually defenseless. She could do basic attacks and spells, but nothing compared to what monsters and ancestral mages could do. If she were to be attacked now, she would surely perish. She looked for anything remotely helpful, to no avail. With a sigh and as much optimism as she could muster (not a lot) she made her way past a heavy marble doorframe to the next room. 

The next room was dark, with one beam of light shining through a crack in the cave ceiling. She moved with extreme caution. She hugged the wall to stay as much in the shadows as possible. She moved slowly. Too slowly. It was almost as if she was becoming impatient with herself for being a slow walker, but she stayed true not wanting to make a sound. 

Just as she was about to exit the room, a light appeared in front of her. A small flickering flame. Then, another lit floating near the first. Then another, and another, and another, until more than a dozen floated around her. She sensed that whoever cast this wasn’t hostile, but that didn’t stop her from feeling slightly threatened. In front of her, a rather large goat-like monster stood. Their coat was a brilliant white and their ears her long and framed their face similar to how hair would. As the room grew brighter she saw that they had feminine humanoid anatomy. She seemed surprised to find her here in the darkened room, but more curious than anything else.

The monster spoke softly and sweetly, “Good evening my child, it has been quite a while since I’ve seen one of your kind. Least of all here.”

“My kind?” (Name) asked. “What do you mean?”

“Mages, my dear child. You are a mage aren’t you?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

She twirled a paw and the small flames gently floated towards them, forming one large flame. “Not many humans walk in robes used by the ancients. And there is rather powerful magical aura around you.”

They paused for a short moment, realizing something. “Where are my manners. I have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.”

As she introduced herself, she realized that perhaps the monsters weren’t as hostile towards wizards as the stories they were told as children made them out to be. Or perhaps she was incredibly lucky and met the only non-hostile monster in the underground.

“Come now, my child,” Toriel said holding out a paw to her. “I will guide you through the catacombs.”

She lead her through the ruins and into a rather large field with one tree and a house. Toriel welcomed (Name) into her home and even offered her a bedroom to stay in for as long as she needed it. For a moment, she was happy. Toriel was motherly and took care of her as if she was one of her own. In the ruins it was peaceful in a way that she only vaguely remembered from her youth. After eating a delicious pie she laid down in the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

 

She was suddenly and violently thrown into a premonition. She stood in front of a large crowd of both humans and monsters, tied to a large wodden pillar. She saw a hooded human light a match and throw it under her. The stage she stood on suddenly erupted in flames. She felt as if her body was being engulfed in flames but the fire felt alive pulsing and beating like a heartbeat. Suddenly, the crowd merged together to form seven human-like figures in traditional mage robes. Most of them were complete strangers, but two looked vaguely familiar. One had blonde hair and blue eyes identical to Kendrik’s the other looked scarily similar to herself.

The seven mages were chanting quietly to themselves but their mumbling quickly grew louder until in was all she could hear.

“You must get out. You must get out. You must get out. You must get out.”

Suddenly, the mages merged and formed into a small child with short brown hair wearing a green sweater. Their eyes glowed a fiendish red.

Their yell pierced through the stagnant air, “GET OUT!”

The flames suddenly rose around her until they towered over her, radiating even more burning heat. She tried to scream but no sound came out. She tried to move but no strength came through. She tried to cry but no tears came out. A boney hand reached through the flames. As it was burned, flesh grew ontop of the bare bones until it resembled a human hand. It reached for her neck and grabbed it with a vice grip. She couldn’t breathe. She tried to move away, but the hand stayed steadfast on her throat. Just as she thought she was going to pass out, flames erupted within her reaching out. These flames seemed same welcoming to her, but the hand that once held her throat was gone, burnt to a crisp below her.

The flames fell, the stage fell, the pillar and the ropes that bound her fell, everything fell and left her floating in space. In front of her was her soul. Inside was a swirl of colors mixing together like paint but each stayed vibrant and pure. There was a sudden, sharp pain in her chest and her soul began to glow white hot. The pain quickly grew until it felt like it was burning a hole in her chest. She screamed.

A voice, strangely familiar yet unknown to her spoke from an invisible mouth, “You are finally ready, my dear child.”

Suddenly, her soul became pure red as her body stilled, glowing as if blessed. For a moment she saw a hand made of flames reached out to her and cover her eyes. It was warm, pleasantly so.

“We will meet soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter this time, just needed to get some exposition stuff out of the way before we can get to the good stuff.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Sorry for the long wait everyone, I kinda ended up putting this story on the back burner while I worked on some other projects. I hope to update a little more regularly now. Wish me luck!

Toriel rushed into the small room after hearing (Name)’s scream pierce through the silence of the ruins. When she arrived, she found the mage curled into a ball on the bed, huddled into the corner pf the room. She sensed a strong magical aura emanating from within the mage, enough to cause Toriel’s fur to stand on end. The small lightbulb that lit the room flickered slightly with each wave of magical energy.

Toriel approached her cautiously, speaking quietly and sweetly, yet no words seemed to find their way to her ears. She spoke louder, hoping to get her attention. The mage slowly raised her head and locked eyes with Toriel. Her irises had faded to light stormy grey, and Toriel could have sworn she saw bolts of lightning striking within them. The mage did not seem to be looking at Toriel, however. Instead she was locked into a glassy, thousand-yard stare that went right through her.

Just as Toriel was about to speak again, a sudden wave of energy was unleashed from within the mage. For an instant, Toriel felt a stab of fear run through her body; magic this powerful could gravely injure her if it intended to do so. Toriel instinctually took a defensive position, ready to brave whatever attack the mage threw at her. However, the energy seemed to move and swirl around her. Whipping the air around her but leaving Toriel completely untouched. As the energy faded, she looked up at the mage once more as she slowly extended her legs and lifted herself up from her place in the corner. Her eyes now seemed to register Toriel’s presence but didn’t seem to recognize her. The mage’s expression morphed from a hollow, blank gaze to one of confusion and fear.

“Where am I?” The mage spoke at last. Her voice seemed different. A light shift in pitch, a soft lilt in her voice, a slightly different rhythm to her cadence. Toriel could still hear the familiar voice of the mage she met the day before, but it was overlapped by another voice that didn’t come from her. It, instead, seemed to speak directly Toriel’s mind. And the mage’s true voice was left as an echo of that one.

“You are in my home near the end of the ruins,” she replied aloud, unsure of whether thought alone would convey her message. “I found you after you fell down into the underground.”

“How did I fall here?” the mage said. 

“I am unsure my child. You seemed to be troubled when I found you, most ones who fall down here are. But you never told me how you fell.”

“And who are you?”

“It is I, my child. Toriel, the caretaker of the ruins.”

The mage sat quietly for a moment, maintaining eye contact with Toriel all the while. She seemed to be thinking, trying to remember something. Something faint, like a distant memory. Her movements slowed more than they already had. The small rise and fall of her chest as she breathed slowed to a crawl, blinking to her seemed like an action one had to put effort into.

“Toriel, I recognize that name,” the mage said quietly. “As in Queen of the Monsters.”

Toriel was taken aback for a moment. Her past as a monarch was not something she indulged in thinking about, let alone telling the mage about it. But the look in her eyes seemed to show more than just surface level knowledge. It became clear that they, perhaps not the mage herself, had met before.

“It has been a long time, your majesty,” the mage spoke again. “It is an honor to be able to speak to you again.” The voice of the mage faded a touch more, leaving more room for the unknown voice.

“I’m sorry, my child. I must admit I am a touch confused. I don’t remember a time before yesterday where we had met.”

The mage smiled, as if laughing, but no sound came out. “I apologize. While she does look similar, it would make sense that you wouldn’t recognize me simply from her face alone.”

The voice had taken on a much more familiar tone. One she could vaguely recognize. She racked her brain as to who this voice could belong to. For a moment, a familiar face flashed in Toriel’s mind. A face that she had not seen or thought about in a very long time. 

“Eden?” Toriel said, shocked. In retrospect, both Eden and (Name) did look eerily similar; their hair, their faces. The only difference were Eden’s grey eyes that, now that she remembered them, were the same haunting shade as (Name)’s current eye color.

“Ah,” Eden said, the slight twinge of his voice giving away his delight. “It seems like you do remember me.”

“How are you doing this? Why are you doing this? How-” Toriel’s mind was going a mile a minute, trying to filter through all the question she wanted to ask Eden. But before she could start, Eden interrupted her.

“I wish I had could explain, your majesty. But I am afraid I don’t have much time, I’m glad I was able to speak with you, if only for a short time.” Eden said, his voice now fading. His cadence shifted into one more serious, almost grave. “Please, allow me to ask just one more request of you.”

“Of course, Eden.”

“Be there for her. I know you are not omnipotent, but as much as you can,” Eden’s voice fading to a whisper. “I was unable to prevent her suffering before. And even now, I am afraid that what is left of me will be too weak to help her. Please, Toriel.” 

As Eden’s voice faded completely, Toriel realized (Name) had not opened her mouth in a long while. The magical energy slowly fizzled out. (Name)’s intense expression shifted to one much more relaxed, almost peaceful as she fell back on to the bed in exhaustion. As she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep her eye color returned to their natural state. Toriel silently approached the bed and tucked her back under the covers and gave the mage a light tap on the head. She peered into (Name)’s soul and saw a burning, fiery, red heart beating in her chest; calm, poised yet passionate.

“Of course, Eden,” Toriel replied to the now, non-existent voice. “Anything for you, old friend.”

 

(Name) awoke from a long, somehow tiring rest. Her head pounded and her chest ached. She couldn’t describe how, but she felt different. Not in any negative way, however. She just felt safer, less alone. It felt strange. She hadn’t felt this way for a long time, not since mages stilled lived in peace among the humans. She laid in bed for a while more, until the pounding in her head ceased. She stared at the ceiling blankly, counting each second that ticked by silently. 

Just as her headache subsided, Toriel entered the room quietly, holding a slice of pie from the night before.

“Good morning, my child. How was your rest?” She said putting the plate of food down on a nearby table.

“It was fine, Toriel,” She responded. “Though, I must admit, I am a bit more tired than I should be after a full night’s rest.”

“I can imagine,” Toriel said chuckling under her breath as she sat near the foot of the bed. She paused for a moment. “May I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” She sat up in her bed. “I only hope I can answer it.”

“Do you remember anything from last night?”

Images of the premonition from the night before flashed in her mind. For a moment, she considered telling Toriel of the haunting imagery she saw. But as she looked up into Toriel’s eyes, she was met with a hopeful expression, as if she was expecting something. Something that wasn’t part of her vision. And as much as she wanted to confide with Toriel on the matter, the idea of weighing down such a hopeful look was too much to bear.

“No, not really,” she said finally, lying through her teeth. “Only small snippets of the dream I had last night. Sorry.”

“No apology is necessary,” Toriel said after a moment of thought. “Now, let’s get ready to start a new day!”

 

What felt like weeks passed in the ruins with Toriel. It became much harder get an accurate sense of time without the sun or moon. And as time passed (Name) became increasingly less content with her home in the ruins.

Toriel could sense this. 

With each passing day she began to go out of the house more, explore the farther and more dangerous parts of the ruins. She was becoming restless. From what Toriel knew of mages, she knew that they were instinctually nomadic. And from what Toriel had been told about the surface, it was obvious her instincts were screaming at her to continue moving for her own survival. 

It all came to a head one day, where she found (Name) staring at the door that lead outside of the ruins. For a moment, Toriel was heartbroken that she would leave without so much as a “goodbye,” but she didn’t move from her spot in front of the door. Instead, she gazed up at it for a long while, guiding her hand along the winged pattern of the door, as if memorizing it, then turning around and heading back into the ruins. Before she could make her way down the long hallway, Toriel stopped her.

“Do you wish to leave the ruins, dear?” She asked, placing a paw on the mage’s shoulder.

(Name) seemed shocked by this inquiry, “No! It’s not like that! I just- I wanted to-”

“It is okay if you want to. I know that the ruins is not what many people would want to consider as home.”

“It’s not that, I swear. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and it would be selfish of me to want to leave,” (Name) said.

“I have not had the pleasure of meeting many mages in my lifetime, but of the ones I did meet, the best and wisest ones knew they had to follow their instincts, even if it means defying reason and seeming a bit egotistical,” Toriel said softly. “If your instincts are telling you to leave, then I won’t stop you. But if you decide not to, you may stay as long as you like.”

Toriel lifted her paw off her shoulder and began to turn to walk away, when (Name) pulled her in for a hug. While Toriel felt remorse for all the things they didn’t do together, she knew that leaving the ruins was the best thing for her. 

Eden hadn’t liked staying in one place either.

That evening, Toriel helped her pack to leave the ruins, having lost everything when she fell; a small bag, some food, and a few bandages. Then, the next morning, (Name) left with a final goodbye and a hug. And as the door closed she realized she was out on her own again. Though, strangely, she didn’t feel alone.


End file.
